What Damages?
by D'Fuentes
Summary: Bumblebee and Hound cause a bit of mischief on a routine run...
1. Chapter 1

This is just a short story based off M. Bay's Universe. I posted it on FB for some feedback and I just got around to posting it here. This is new territory; I'm intimidated.

Please feel free to give constructive criticism.

Hound swore and thrashed around, uprooting a small tree in his path. "Oh shit!" He growled as the tree trunk tumbled down the slope of the hillside towards the roadway. Worried that it might cause an accident, he pointed his gun at the target and blasted the tree into a cloud of tiny wooden splinters. He then slapped his giant metal gut three times for measure and congratulated himself. "Good job, Hound. You just saved the day. Now to find that sneaky 'Bot."

Determined, the heavy transformer returned to his mission and continued to make his way through the thick vegetation until he got to the roadway on the upper hillside. He climbed back on to the road and stood in the same spot where he had first gotten ambushed and subsequently catapulted over the edge in a fast tumble. He had instinctively transformed to grab hold of the earth and roots to stop his descent, and ended up halfway down entangled in trees and shrubs.

Hound cursed again and spat oily fluid on the pitch. "I swear I'll kill 'im this time. Gone too far; that piece of scrap!" He scanned the area again for the Cybertronian culprit that got away. His signature, although faint, was nearby. The angry Autobot transformed into his vehicle mode and traveled for a quarter mile until he broke the bend and spotted his 'attacker' parked in front of the gate of a rather upper-society, private home.

"What in the name of Cybertron does he think he's doing?" Hound launched at the yellow Camaro and landed in front of the inconspicuous vehicle on both feet. To his surprise his younger comrade didn't transform; far less budged from the challenge.

"What's this?" He nudged the tyre of the Chevy. "Y' think ya bold and brave now that you got yer voice back?"

The sunny bright car maintained its stillness and no protest came from the abnormally chatty Bumblebee. He was picking up the Autobot's signature. It was clear and very present.

Hound prodded Bumblebee's bonnet. "Hey, ya can't pretend to be a regular car to fool me. I may be old, but I'm not stupid, Stupid." Hound tried again by grabbing the car beneath the front bumper and proceeded to drag him forward. He was certain that no transformer could resist transforming if they were to be dragged by another. He pulled him one inch forward and when there was no sign of movement from Bee, he flipped the entire Chevy over on to its roof.

"Ya had that coming!" The heavy-set Autobot roared with laughter and slapped his gut. "Give up the act already, ya little piece of scrap. Transform and face me like a real Autobot!"

The overturned Chevrolet was still rocking when the voice of Bumblebee came from behind.

"Hound, what did you do?" The yellow transformer was standing behind the gate and his hands clutched both sides of his head. "Why did you do that?" He demanded.

"Bumblebee?" Hound gawked at the sight the real transformer before him. "That was a real car?" He pointed at the upside down Camaro.

"Duh!" Bee replied as he hopped over the gate.

"Yer an idiot!" Hound stomped the ground. "Why'd ya hafta hide so close to a car that looks like you?"

Bumblebee rocked back on his heels, shocked by Hound's accusation. "Me? You're the idiot who mistook a regular Earth car for an autobot. And that does not look like me!"

"What are you talking about? It's looks exactly like you! It's a yellow Chevy Camaro - as the humans say."

"Nooo. I'm yellow with black accents and that is a pure yellow 2015 Camaro. I upgraded to the 2017 model from 2016," Bee explained indignantly. "I'm offended that my own team mate doesn't even know what I look like. And I would've never let you touch me to begin with."

Hound huffed. He had figured the autobot wouldn't have let him grab hold, but Hound was not going to admit it. "'All look the same to me," he mumbled under his breath. "Stop yer whining, half-pint. I'll just put the car back and we'll get out of here before the owner shows up."

"What about the damages? "

Hound began turning the car back to stand on the four tyres. "What damages? I don't see any."

"The dents and scratches all over it.." Bumblebee clarified for older transformer.

"Those were there before I arrived." Hound continued to act oblivious as he moved the vehicle back to its parking spot. "See? It's as good as new." He grinned at the other autobot mischievously and dusted off his bio-mechanic hands against one other.

"Oh relax. Even if the owner was upset about two itty-bitty scratches he could never prove who did it. Any transformer could've done it. They'll just put the blame on a dirty Decepticon."

"Hound!" Bumblebee yelled in disbelief. "What would Optimus Prime say about this?"

The rusty being turned his back towards the yellow autobot. "Yer not going to say anything to Prime because then I'd have to tell him how you tried to kill me back there. Or did ya forget about our little incident?"

Bee grumbled in defeat and looked over at dented Camaro. There were clear indicators of transformer-like hand prints on the side and front of it, but they would not help identify which transformer committed the act. However, cameras were another issue. "Hound," Bee called out. "They'll know It was you because of the surveillance cameras."

That caught the autobot's attention "Damn it! For Cybertron's sake, why are humans so obsessed with watching everything? I hate them so much sometimes." Hound hunkered over to the damaged car to study it. He scratched his metallic head before he switched his gaze to his companion. "Alright. Here's what we'll do."

"We?" Bumblebee clasped his chest; terrified.

"Yes. I'll take the car to get it fixed and you can pretend to be the human's vehicle for a few days while this one is in our shop for repairs."

The younger transformer recoiled. "No way! I am not doing that!" He waved his hands in front of him wildly. "That's the craziest plan I've ever heard. You don't even know how to repair real cars."

"It's genius actually," Hound corrected. "We have human allies to help with the repairs and you've done this type of undercover work before with the Witwicky boy. Not only that, ya already got this model programmed in ya, so it should be easy. See if you take this car's place, the humans wouldn't have a reason to check their security footage. Unless ya choose to stay as you are; then I'm pretty sure the guy wouldn't mind a free upgrade."

"No."

"Yes. What other option do we have? We don't need any more trouble with the inhabitants of this planet. I've had enough of their fussing about us."

"No! Absolutely not!" Bumblebee protested. "You could always come clean to the owner and offer to pay for the damages that you caused."

"Ha! Now that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard; coming from a 'bot who was almost torn apart by angry humans twice. Besides, where am I going to get money from to pay for this piece of junk?"

Hound moved closer to the vehicle and in one move lifted the faux-Bee over his shoulders. "Ya know, I'm your senior so you should really be listening to me, Bumblehead. You're a great spy. They'll never know the vehicle was replaced. You're way more efficient and faster, aren't ya? "

"Don't try to appeal to my ego, you big clunk of scrap metal. Wait, where are you going with that? Stop!"

"I'm taking it to fix," Hound answered. "It'll be just like fixing you up after a battle. At least this guy here won't whine like a baby."

"Why would I help you with this wack plan of yours? " Bee countered.

Hound came to a sudden halt and glared at Bumblebee. "Because ya tried to kill me. Ya ran me off a cliff, ya sociopath! Ya really think I'm gonna let ya off so easily? If ya do this for me I'll forget all about it."

Bee ducked his head and shrugged. "Hey, you started that game. I didn't tell you to be so top-heavy... Anyway, what if the owner is a middle-aged guy who eats a lot of cheese and farts a lot? I sure as hell do not want to smell that."

"Little piece of scrap! I honestly don't understand what Optimus sees in you."

"Or what if he's a wannabe Hefner with bladder control problems? Uh? I'd rather be punished by your hands than be pissed on."

Hound opened his mouth to respond to the smart-mouth Autobot, but a tiny shift in the door of the French-styled home changed his mode.

"Quick! Take the position! A human is coming." Hound shoved Bumblebee back and ran over to the edge of the road where he jumped down to take cover against the slope. Luckily for them, the house was situated several yards away from the tree-shaded gates, which gave Bee enough time to settle into an older version of the Camaro.

The parking spot was parallel to a five-feet stone wall which supported the gate, and so it blocked Bumblebee's view from the human walking down the path. Hound laid flat on the ground and watched to make sure that the human found nothing suspicious with the replacement.

Much to Hound's disappointment the human was not a male senior citizen with bladder problems. Instead this person was not a guy in any form or fashion, but rather a female with dark hair pulled into a ponytail and shoes with pointy things extending from the heels. "Human women are strange," Hound muttered to himself.

The woman had her phone pressed against the side of her face as she absentmindedly made her way through a space in the 'still-opening' gate and walked towards the Chevy. She pressed her alarm to her car which made her true vehicle beep next to the older transformer, and Bee mimicked the lights. She climbed into the car, shut the door and Bumblebee's engine revved to life.

Hound skittered lower down to conceal himself some more and swore. "What a mess I've gotten us in now..."

-End-


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, readers. I highly appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters but this plot is all mine.

After relinquishing control to this new driver, Bumblebee found himself being driven into the nearby town's shopping area; alive and buzzing with pedestrians. The woman drove cautiously along the busy streets; not seeming perturbed by the number of stops at crossing lights and hordes of shoppers. They eventually pulled up along a quaint, outdated bookshop wedged between two modern buildings, each standing several floors taller than it. A metallic sign was hung above the door with the words 'Nell's Book Corner' scrawled across it in white paint.

The contrast between the buildings caught the autobot's interest and he found himself curious about the kinds of books inside. Whether there were vintage books with war tales or medieval battles. His passenger on the other hand wasted no time to get out and make her way into the shop. Her movements indicated that there was some degree of familiarity with the business place; either she was an avid reader who frequented the shop or perhaps the owner. Whoever she was, Bumblebee was glad she was well away from him to check in with the other Autobots, including Hound.

As soon as he switched on his comm. link Optimus Prime's voice came through to him.

"Bumblebee. Come in, Bumblebee. Please report your status."

"I'm here, Optimus. Reading you loud and clear." Bumblebee answered, swearing internally. He truly hoped Optimus didn't need him for a mission right at this time.

"Bumblebee," Optimus's tone stretched the Autobot's name out indicating that he was bothered by the lack of feedback. "We have been trying to contact you for over ten minutes now but your comm. was turned off. What is your location? Is there a situation that we should know about? Do you need backup?"

"No situation here, Optimus," Bee replied. "I - uh - switched off my comm. to ignore Hound's singing and forgot to turn it back on. I promise that it won't happen again. I'm sending my coordinates to you now."

Optimus hummed like he suspected a lie, but he accepted the bot's explanation. "From now on maintain all communications, Bumblebee. The decepticon Berserker recently broke free from a military holding facility and was last spotted twenty cyber-klicks from your current position. Be on the alert and call for assistance to bring him in."

"Got it, Optimus. Bumblebee out." The yellow autobot groaned as he attempted to contact Hound for the first time since they parted ways. "Hound, you there?"

"Hound here. I guess Optimus finally got a hold of ya to tell ya about that escaped 'con, huh?"

"Yes, but where are you with that car and what did you tell Optimus?"

"I got the car to Cade's new place and he agreed to repair it. Should only take a couple o' hours."

Bumblebee sighed in relief. "Thank the AllSpark."

"Indeed... I told Optimus and the others that I left ya to come in for a check. Felt like I got a fluid line leak or something. But with this 'con on the loose I'm thinking of rejoining ya. By the way, where's the human?" Hound asked.

"Right now she's in a bookshop. She could be coming out anytime soon. It's pretty busy with people out here; busier than usual."

"Today is Small Business Saturday," Hound stated as a matter of fact. "Sales everywhere too."

"And how do you know th-?" Bumblebee began asking, but stopped when two forms emerged from the rustic doors. "Scrap! Forget that, Hound. She's coming back with a passenger. Get out here to help keep an eye out for the Berserker."

"Ha! Not a problem. I've been itching for months to pound one of 'em 'cons."

"Thanks, Hound. Will catch up with you as soon as I can. Bumblebee out."

The woman was accompanied by an older female appearing to be in her late fifties. There was also a striking resemblance between them. Both had high, defined cheek bones and dark; deep-set eyes. Their relation was undeniable.

"Danielle, Honey, won't you think about it? the older woman said as they approached the Camaro. "For me, your dear mother."

"Ma, for the thousandth time, no."

"But after your accident I just thought -"

"No," Danielle said cutting her mother off. "You're not gonna bring this up anymore. You're not allowed to use my accident as an excuse to have your way, like you used dad's accident to get a divorce from him."

Her mother's lips plunged to give a pained expression. "Danielle... how could you say that?"

Upon seeing the other woman's face, Danielle immediately regretted her statement. "Look, Ma. I know that you're scared for us and you don't want anything bad to happen to me, but this is where I want to be and there's nothing that you can say or do to change my mind. Okay?"

Her mother ducked her head and grumbled, "You're just as stubborn as he is."

Danielle smiled crookedly and pulled the woman into a tight hug. "I know, Ma and I will always love you. But I'm running late so I gotta go. Bye." She released her mother and slipped into the car before she could protest.

Danielle pulled off with Bumblebee leaving her mother standing at the curbside waving forlornly.

The Autobot was glad it was this one passenger and not two of them. He couldn't imagine having to listen to their mother-daughter bickering. He was praying to the AllSpark for her to stop off at home for him to go hunt the escaped 'con. Instead they were travelling to the outskirts of the town where population numbers dwindled. She steered the Autobot on to a road which led to an interstate highway and after a few klicks, branched off on to another unfamiliar stretch.

' _Where are you going_?' Bee wondered. He decided to transmit his new coordinates to Hound when the woman rammed her heel down on the brake and brought them to a screeching stop.

' _What in the name of Cybertron_!' Bumblebee's attention was quickly drawn to the titan mass in their path. Berserker was standing in the middle of the neglected road and he bent over to look into the Chevy.

"Your vehicle reminds me of that autobot Bumblebee," he told the tiny driver before dropping his fist on Bee's hood.

' _Scrap_!' Bumblebee cringed inwardly as Danielle's scream cut through the air.

The Autobot remained calm hoping that the deception would bypass them believing that he was just another human's car. Danielle however, had already thrown Bumblebee's gear into reverse and floored the accelerator. Bee was taken by surprise as they sped away from Berserker in reverse. In spite of her fear, her control of the muscle car was executed near flawless and Berserker stood up in shock.

"Hey! Get back here!" the deception shouted, sprinting towards them in pursuit. "I'm not done chatting with you."

"Oh God, no," the woman cried spotting Berserker's advance. She mashed down on the brake, locked the steering and allowed the Camaro to tailspin 360° until they were facing forward. Then she floored the accelerator once more to get away from the decepticon.

Bumblebee had to admit that he was impressed by her driving skills, but for the sake of survival he had to take back total control of his vehicle mode. Berserker transformed into his vehicle mode and was gaining on them.

"Call 911!" She suddenly yelled in the direction of the dashboard causing the Autobot to wonder if she was speaking to him.

"Call 911, you stupid, useless phone! I'm being chased by a giant alien. Call 911, call Dad, call 911!" Danielle banged her palm against the pseudo MyLink screen. "No, no, no! This is not the time for Bluetooth to stop working. Damn it!"

This time Bumblebee spoke up, "Hang on, Danielle. I'll get you out of here. Optimus, Hound, I have a real 911 situation here. Berserker is on my tail and I have a human civilian with me. Sending our coordinates your way. We're headed north towards highway 41."

Optimus responded instantly on the comm. link. "We're on our way, Bumblebee. Hound will be there first for he is the closest to you."

"What's happening?" Danielle asked; her palms were sweaty against the steering. "Who are you?"

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything to you later; after we get rid of this sociopath. I just need you to hang tight, alright?"

The woman barely nodded and tightened her fist on the steering wheel. She glanced up at the rearview mirror in time to see Berserker launch what looked like several missiles into the sky. They arched overhead forming streams of white smoke and descended toward the road ahead.

"No!" She grabbed the steering and tried to yank it to the left, but it rotated to the right, smarting all ten of her fingers. "Agh! What the -!"

The ground exploded on impact from the mini-missiles, spewing a cloud of black debris like an erupting volcano.

Danielle screamed covering her face and head with her arms. The daring Autobot's tyres burned against the asphalt as he tried to veer away from the storm.

The momentum of the sharp turn propelled them into the path of the would-be Decepticon who was careening towards them.

"Scrap!" Bumblebee swore, realizing that a full-on impact with Berserker in vehicle mode could possibly kill his passenger. With his options limited, Bumblebee transformed into his primary form, held the howling woman protectively in his hand and tried to flip over Berserker.

"Woohoo! An Autobot!" Berserker hollered in celebration at revelation of the yellow Autobot and somewhere mid-rotation he figured out the other's intention. Acting quickly he launched into the air; transforming into his natural mode to body-block Bumblebee's roll.

A loud boom echoed through the atmosphere when the Autobot's back collided with Berserker's face knocking him back, and while he was falling to the ground Bumblebee twisted to point his armed hand at the 'con's chest and fired a shot. Berserker's energon light flickered off as his body landed with a thud on the road; and Bumblebee next to him.

Shocked by the force of the collision, the Autobot remained motionless on the ground staring up at the sky while Danielle wriggled out of his hand. The woman stumbled around like a disoriented drunk and her ankles bent at agonizing angles each time the heels failed to stay upright.

After a few attempts to steady herself, she managed to find Bumblebee's head and dropped to her knees beside him. She slapped one hand against his face to get his attention.

"Hey, you. Wake up. Wake up for Christ's sake. I need my car back," she croaked.

The 'bot's optics followed her, but his only response was a groan.

"You tried to kill me! My own car." She slapped the Autobot once more and used his chin as support to push herself up. "I need to get out of here," she mumbled while attempting to walk, but her legs wobbled and sent her sprawling on the ground. "Damn it!"

The sound of another approaching vehicle caught her attention and she instantly took cover behind Bumblebee's arm.

A large olive-green vehicle pulled alongside the fallen Cybertronians and transformed into a giant, humanoid form. "Naw, Bee. Don't tell me I'm too late. Yer can't go out just like that, Bee. Can ya hear me?" Hound knelt beside the young Autobot and started to assess his damages. "Yer in shock, I suppose. Ya didn't even leave a little bit of Berserker for me do some crushing."

Bumblebee groaned and moved his arm to reveal the hiding Danielle. She shrieked and threw her arms up in the air saying, "Please don't hurt me!"

"Oh calm down. If I wanted to hurt ya, you'd probably be dead already," he corrected her. "Tell me, what happened to him?"

Danielle glanced from Hound's menacing form to Bumblebee and back to Hound. "He – uh - crashed into the crazy one with the missiles and I think he shot him. Everything happened so fast, I couldn't say for sure."

"Are ya certain he wasn't hit by a missile?" Hound rolled Bumblebee onto his side to check his back.

"No, we weren't hit by any," she replied.

"Good. At least I don't see any evidence of it. Alright, Bumblehead, time to stop yer whining and get up." He pulled the protesting Bumblebee up into a sitting position and patted his metallic head. "Come on, snap out of it. We need to get ya back to the base."

"Hound, the stars; they hurt so much," Bumblebee said to the older 'bot, trying to remain steady in the upright position.

"Yes, yes. They do that sometimes," Hound responded in light. "What'd ya say we get out of this joint, uh?'

"Hey, hold up. What about me?" Danielle piped, struggling to maneuver around Bumblebee's legs. "Isn't he my car? I still need to get home."

Hound's thunderous laughter rumbled out of him at that. "He is not your car. He's an Autobot that just happens to look like your vehicle," he clarified.

Danielle opened her mouth again to say something but was interrupted by a red and blue truck rolling on scene. Like Hound it came to a halt and transformed into an even bigger robot. The woman staggered back in awe of the alien's commanding presence.

"What is wrong with Bumblebee? Is he severely hurt?" Optimus asked Hound, surveying the area.

"Not from what I can see externally, but according to the human, Bumblebee took a pretty hard hit before taking out ole' Berserker here. He should be fine once we get back to the base."

"I see." Optimus, "And what about you, Miss? Are you injured in any way?"

Danielle was caught off guard by the direct address and stammered somewhat. "No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"And where do you wish to be dropped off?" Optimus continued.

"I - I live in the Valley, but can any of you tell me where my _real_ car is? Since it's clearly not him." She gestured to Bumblebee who suddenly looked a little more alert than before.

"Uh – about that," Hound muttered anxiously. "It's in Cade's shop for repairs."

"Repairs?" Danielle frowned. "What repairs? Why did my car need to be repaired? It was fine this morning. Wait, how long was I driving…Bumblebee? Who is Cade? And how did you get my car there in the first place?" She demanded.

Hound shifted nervously and moved to help Bumblebee up. "I can't answer all that right now. We need to get Bee to triage STAT."

"Answer the question, Hound," Optimus urged, stopping the Autobots in their tracks. "I am curious to know the answers myself."

"It had to be repaired because of the damages," Hound replied unwillingly.

"Damages he caused actually," Bumblebee added.

Danielle gasped in horror. "What damages?"

…..

-End-


	3. Chapter 3

"How was my car damaged?"

Bumblebee heard Danielle inquire again while Optimus Prime stood by like a 'giant' lawyer expectantly waiting for the Autobots' explanation.

"It was all a mistake really," came Hound's voice. "Long story short, I mistook yer car for Bee. So I took it to Cade to get it fixed... If it's okay with Optimus, we can take ya to yer car if ya want."

Optimus started to respond but the human, not understanding Cybertronian protocols when it comes to Primes, suddenly jumped in. "I don't think it's up to him since what you did was steal my car. I'd very much like to see my car, thank you."

"That is only fair, Miss... I am sorry. I did not quite get your name. I am Optimus Prime."

"I'm Danielle Moore," she supplied in a calmer tone.

"Danielle Moore?" Bumblebee all but squawked, nearly tipping over when he bent to get a closer look at the woman. His optics had sporadic glitches, most likely caused by the impact with Berserker's plated skull, and it forced him to continuously refocus his sight. "The Danielle Moore!"

Danielle backed away from the towering extra-terrestrials fearful of him crushing her. "Well that is my name; without the 'The'* part."

"That explains everything!" Bumblebee exclaimed, throwing the others into a state of confusion. "Solus Prime! I can't believe it! It's Danielle Moore -"

"Who?" Hound scratched the back of his head; clueless about the yellow 'bot's fascination.

"She's a Nascar racer; one of my favourites... and I can't believe you flipped her car!" Bumblebee gasped, covering his head with his Cybertronian hands.

"He what!" Danielle screeched. Faint green veins in her face and neck were now more visible than before, pulsing with angry blood. Hound moved further away from the human as if she was an activated grenade and Bumblebee cringed.

"Now, now, everyone calm down," Optimus cautioned. "We should really be on our way. I'm sure Miss Moore would like to have her vehicle back and has other things to attend to instead of standing around here all night."

In the next instant the yellow Autobot caught Hound glaring at him and right then the heavy Autobot shoved him forward; in spite of telling Optimus that they needed to get him - Bumblebee - to triage immediately. "Take on yer vehicle-mode already," Hound pushed, "We need to have ya checked out at the base."

"Easy, Hound." Optimus interjected, "If it is as serious as you're saying, shouldn't you be more careful?"

Hound coughed and flicked a shell unto the ground which made Danielle yelp and duck behind one of Optimus' feet.

"Watch it," she warned. "Small human on the ground here."

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget my own might," Hound stated with a chuckle while shifting into vehicle mode.

Bumblebee rolled his optics and shook his head. "Right..." He transformed and left his passenger door opened to the woman. "Hop in. I'll take you to your car, Milady."

Danielle hesitated. "Will we be attacked again?" She glanced at Berserker's form nearby. "Will there be others like...him?"

"No, but you may ride with me if it makes you feel safer," Optimus Prime offered.

"Yes, that'd be best," she replied quickly, and to the Chevy she said, "I'm going with him."

"Aww." the yellow car shut his door; dejected.

"Very well," Optimus said as he too transformed and allowed the young woman to climb into the passenger seat.

"What about the 'con, Optimus?" Hound asked. "Don't have the resources to move 'im."

"I've already contacted Colonel Lennox's team to secure the area while we escort Miss Moore to her car," the leader replied. "Let's roll out."

* * *

For forty minutes Bumblebee struggled to drive in silence to Cade Yeager's - possibly permanent - dwellings, because he was ecstatic about Danielle Moore. Although she wasn't a frequent winner, she ranked in the top ten and happened to be one of his favourites. Which was probably due to his own bias for drivers who remained faithful to Chevy in the races.

As the three Autobots pulled into their old friend's garage/work-space, the human emerged from behind hanging plastic curtains to greet them. "Hey, Optimus!" Yeager waved at the blue and red truck as he walked towards them. "Hound said the car was top-priority but I didn't think it was so important that you had to be here to collect it. What's the big deal?"

While Bee and Hound were switching modes, Optimus' door opened to reveal his passenger who immediately jumped out and startled the man. "Whoa, who's this? Is there something you're not telling me Optimus?"

At this moment Bumblebee couldn't resist jumping in. "She's The Danielle Moore! One of this year's top ten stock car racers in Nascar's Monster Energy Cup Series. Winner of the Pure Michigan 400 with 45 points and placed third in the Bass-Pro-Shops-NRA; 49 points, best time 36.434. And you know what the best part is?"

"I don't want to know," Hound muttered to the side.

Cade was amused by his friend's enthusiasm, which was not surprising considering Bumblebee's known favour for American culture. "No, Bumblebee. Enlighten me."

Bumblebee grinned - or whatever was the equivalent on his robotic features. "She was inside me! She drove me and it was the best thing ever!" The Autobot tipped when his optics glitched again and Hound propped his back to balance him.

Cade balked. "Uh, Bee, I don't think - "

"That doesn't sound too right at all," the woman scowled, prompting Prime to interject.

"Danielle Moore, this is Cade Yeager. One of our most trusted allies and an excellent Mechanic - so to speak. Which is why Hound would have brought your car here for repairs."

"Nice to meet you," Cade offered his hand which the woman shook. "I - uh - guess the yellow 2015 Chevy is yours?"

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Yeager - given the circumstances," she replied, casting a disapproving glance at the towering lifeforms before adding, "yes, so where is it?"

"Ah - Right this way!" He answered and led them through his home which happened to be a down-sized, airplane hangar. It was high enough for the Autobots to stand upright and walk freely, with sections marked off by queue line ribbons and hanging sheets of plastic.

Bumblebee whistled. "Boy, this place is a dump."

"Never mind the state of the place," the man announced as he ducked behind a set of plastic sheets. "It's a work in progress but when I'm done, Bee, you'll see how great it is."

"Hmmm."

Without warning the man halted and spun around. "Oh - uh, before we go any further I have to warn ya, I did a little bit of experimenting on your car."

"What!" Danielle stormed forward and Cade tried to stop her with his arms.

"No . Wait a sec, Miss..."

"What kind of experiment?" Optimus asked with a tone of grave concern.

"Ohhh, just a little one involving self-repair," Yeager supplied, still blocking the woman from going forward.

"Aye! Can a 'bot catch a break," the yellow Autobot threw his arms up on his head and turned on the spot, ashamed.

"What did you do?" Optimus pressed, lowering his face to the human's eye-level.

"Yes, what did you do to my car?" Danielle demanded. "I thought they brought it here to be fixed."

Cade's face flushed and he ran his fingers through his hair. "They did, but you see there's this Cybertronian technology -"

" _Our_ technology," Optimus interjected.

"Their technology... that - that grants them the ability to modify their physical features and composition -"

"It is also very dangerous," the Prime said cutting off the inventor. "Which you, off all persons, should be well aware of, because you have seen what it can do in the wrong hands. Why are you doing this? What have you done, Yeager?"

"Optimus is right," Hound offered, pitching a shell from his teeth. "What did you do to the woman's car?"

Cade cowered from the projectile and winced when it crashed into one of his cordoned off projects. "Okay, okay! Calm down," he cried. "It's right over here." He lifted a plastic veil behind him to reveal the four-year-old model car, parked neatly on a raised ramp.

Danielle walked over to her property and began inspecting the vehicle for damages. "I don't understand," she said after finding none. "It looks untouched; almost brand new. They said there were damages from earlier today - how did you repair them so fast?"

The question seemed to excite the man more, while the Autobots shifted with uncertainty. "You see, I isolated the bio-programme which controls physical changes and synced it to a computer programme which allows me to control of any modification. Then I tested the prototype on your car and voila! It worked... With a click of a button I fixed all the dents and scratches in a matter of seconds!"

"Really?" The woman raised her head to look at the mechanic. "That's unbelievable."

"I know right."

"Not to us it ain't," Bumblebee commented.

"Cade Yeager, I don't know what has gotten into you as of late. You have betrayed our trust and used our own DNA and bio-technology for your own intents and purposes," Optimus admonished the man.

"Optimus, come on," Yeager protested. "Don't be like that. I'm sorry, okay. I promise no one will get their hands on it. I swear on my life."

"I am disappointed in you, Yeager."

While the males squabbled, Danielle took the opportunity to open the door to the driver's seat. She was about to get inside when the car vibrated under her touch and a jolt of electricity shocked her hand. Startled by the sting she jumped back and the vehicle began splitting along lines appearing on it.

"Uhm, guys," she called, staggering back from the erupting car.

It opened up in sporadic episodes, spouting arms and legs that were washed over by streams of electricity. Its head was comprised of parts of the dashboard and the touchscreen display, and it swivelled around to scan the area. The new-born transformer emitted an electronic snarl before it lunged at Danielle.

She screamed, cutting through the banter behind her, and leapt off the ramp to escape the feral vehicle. She curled into foetal position and used her arms to protect her head. The clumsy creature crashed head-first into the ground, and scrambled to find its footing.

"What the -" Bumblebee stared at the clambering car in astonishment and lifted his blaster to take aim at the abomination.

The rogue car rose up with a roar and rushed towards Hound. The bulky Autobot side-stepped out of his attacker's path and loud blasts rang out as Bumblebee and Optimus took the offender down. It crumbled to the ground like a marionette puppet, twitching and screeching while its spark dimmed out.

"Well, that was unexpected." Hound stated, letting a chuckle roll off his belly.

Bumblebee pointed to the dead transformer. "And that is why we don't play with Cybertronian technology, kids."

The three Autobots turned to Cade, who had his hands on his head.

"What do you have to say about yourself, Cade?" Optimus asked the man.

"You're absolutely right, Optimus. I had no right to mess with stuff I don't fully understand. I just thought that with your ability to change, I could apply it to make small repairs like when you guys sustain damages. But now I know that that was the wrong approach. I am truly sorry, Optimus..."

The Prime nodded and then turned to address the young woman. "Miss Moore, are you unharmed?"

Danielle nodded without taking her eyes off her demolished car. "My... car..."

"I'll personally see to it that your car is replaced," he informed her. "I sincerely apologize for all the trouble my compatriots have caused you today."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry, Danielle," Bumblebee said. "This is all my fault -"

"Oh so now ya wanna admit that this whole mess was yer fault," Hound spat. "Yer a piece of scrap for hiding near a car that looks exactly like ya in the first place."

"Shut it, Hound." Bumblebee shoved the tank. "It wasn't even my model to begin with. You're just too dumb to know the difference."

"Hound, I believe you owe Miss Moore an apology just as much as Bumblebee does."

"Yeah, yeah, Prime. I know," Hound mumbled, and to the Nascar driver he said, "Please accept my humblest apologies, Miss Moore."

The woman finally looked away from the ' _alienized_ ' car and locked eyes on the Autobots. "You know where I live, don't you?"

The three transformers and human looked at one another perplexed, and the yellow Autobot spoke up. "Yeah, why?"

"I think you might have to take me home..." She tilted sideways and careened to the ground, only to be caught a few centimetres off floor by Hound.

"Uh, what do we do now?" Hound asked while he manoeuvred the limp human into Cade's arms.

"We do as she asked and take her home," said Optimus.

Cade groaned because he was straining from the weight of the girl and tried his best to balance her in his arms. "Really, Hound? She's like the weight of a feather to you and you hand her over to me."

Hound shrugged. "Yeah, she's your kind."

"Bumblebee, I trust that you and Cade will take her home. Hound and I will devise a way in which to replace or reimburse her for the car. It will take some time, but in the meantime, Bumblebee, you may ask Miss Moore if she will accept your assistance as a mode of transport. It's the least we can do. That will be your mission once she accepts."

"Awesome! Danielle Moore will be my passenger!" The Autobot did a fist pump and recoiled and quickly when Optimus glared at him. "Right, Roger that. Let's go, Yeager!" The Autobot transformed and opened his doors for Cade to place Danielle inside.

"And, Bumblebee, remember to wait for her to wake up to ask."

"Sure thing, Optimus."

The Prime shook his head as the man finally got the woman inside and shut the door. "Cybertron, help us all."

* * *

A/N: Soooo, we're at the real End now. Thanks for reading & reviewing! If any of you are left out there. Stay cool.

XD


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